


Aquarius

by petitfleur (moonfleur)



Series: Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Ancient Greek Religion & Lore Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 12:57:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20892485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonfleur/pseuds/petitfleur
Summary: Jaehyun spends a hundred years serving gods for the sake of his people but Doyoung doesn’t think that’s enough.





	Aquarius

**Author's Note:**

> This is a part of the 00fftober Challenge and, because I missed a day, it’s a combination of both Day 3 and Day 4 prompts. This was really hard to write because my brain wasn’t cooperating with me but I hope you kinda like it anyway? I’ll reveal what the actual prompts are in the end notes! :)

He gazed out at the scene before him, at the multiple white-walled gardens that were always neat, never overgrown, at the gilded marble walkways that were at first so gaudy to him but had grown on him over the years, and, in the distance, the golden gate that he had stepped through almost a century ago now. Beyond it, past the precipice, he could just make out the glittering of lights from the sprawling city below. His city or it was, an age ago. He wondered what it looked like now, whether the streets were still dusty, the markets still noisy and colourful, but most importantly, whether the gardens down there looked at least half as good as the ones up here. He’d done his job, had held up his end of the bargain for the last hundred years, and the rains had come, as was promised him back then, but he’d never gotten to see the aftermath. Was never allowed back down to see whether his city had indeed survived. 

He was just about to head back inside when a small cough to his right broke the silence of the night he had chosen to enshroud himself in. 

“You’re brooding again.” The voice to his right spoke, at the same time both melodious and sharp, like the crack and rumble of thunder. 

He chuckled, turning to face the owner of the voice. “Would you have expected otherwise?”

The eyes that gazed back up at him sparkled in the darkness as if they held all the galaxies of the universe in them. 

“No. But one can always hope.” 

There was a lilt to the voice that sounded playful almost, like he was being teased. Almost. “You know why I’m being like this, _ Doyoung_.” 

His emphasis on the name wasn’t lost on the other, nor the meaning behind his blatant use of the name while they were outdoors. Granted they were on one of the balconies of the main palace, which no one except the royal family had access to, but they were still ‘outside’ in every other sense of the word. Doyoung’s eyes flashed in warning, lightning across a starry sky, but he said nothing else. Instead, he turned away towards the gardens, forearms resting lightly on the balustrade.

“I’m sorry,” he finally answered, turning back to the gardens too. “The century is almost up and I haven’t been able to do anything except look down on them from up here.”

“Jaehyun,” Doyoung whispered, almost pleading, as he took his hand in his. “You _know _you did more than that. You _ saved _them, and I made sure they knew it too.”

This was news to Jaehyun and he looked back at Doyoung in surprise. “You told them?”

“Of course. I couldn’t have them thinking that you ran away from your responsibilities just because times were hard.” Doyoung smiled, his free hand coming up to brush the stray strands of hair away from his face almost absentmindedly. “You’re a hero to them.”

Jaehyun felt a weight lift from his chest at Doyoung’s words, and for the first time in years, he felt like he could breathe. “Why didn’t you tell me? It’s been decades since any member of my immediate family has been alive.”

To his surprise (again), Doyoung blushed, barely managing to stutter out a, “It was before the… uh… you know…” before trailing off again. When the realisation of what Doyoung was talking about finally hit him, the tips of his ears burned and he retracted his hands from Doyoung’s almost instantly. 

“It was that long ago?” He asked, trying to keep his voice steady as he willed his ears to calm down.

“Yeah,” Doyoung breathed out. “I didn’t know how to tell you then, and you never mentioned your family again after.”

“Thank you,” he finally said, after a period of silence. But Doyoung couldn’t help but notice the shadow that still hung over his features. 

“Something is still bothering you.” He pressed, and when Jaehyun looked back at him it was almost pained.

“It’s almost the end of the century Doyoung.” He frowned. “I’ve served out my end of the deal, and in just a few more weeks my soul will be bound for Hades. Especially since you’d made it extremely clear that I would never again be allowed to set foot in the human realm.” 

He watched as Doyoung’s features fell and dark clouds gathered across the night sky, as if he had just realised the implications the end of the century meant. But they cleared almost instantly as Doyoung’s head snapped up, like he had been hit by a particularly weighty thought, and his eyes sparkled once more.

“Let’s go for a ride.” He declared instead, as he reached for Jaehyun wrist to pull him up the balustrade, whistling an all-too-familiar trill. Before Jaehyun could steady himself, the sound of wings greeted them, followed by the creature the wings belonged to. Jaehyun smiled as a giant bird swooped into view, stopping just under the edge of the balcony they were standing on. 

“Hello Aquila,” he greeted the large winged creature as he followed Doyoung, who had already jumped down and settled himself on its back, ruffling its neck feathers just slightly. Aquila only released a loud screech in response before pulling itself away from the balcony and into the night. He settled himself behind Doyoung, arms wrapping comfortably around the other’s waist as he rested his head on Doyoung’s shoulders. He felt Doyoung rest his own arm over his, gently interlacing their fingers, and he smiled to himself, grateful that Doyoung couldn’t see his expression.

Aquila took them far up, so far into the night sky that he could make out all of their closest stars and even the constellations that represented the different gods and goddesses that made up the citizenry of the land he had spent the last century on. He also noticed the parts of the night sky that were devoid of stars, empty spots on the registry of gods, which he assumed were for the gods and goddesses that were yet to be born. He sighed to himself and tightened his grip unconsciously around Doyoung’s waist; he had spent so long with those gods and yet he was still whole worlds apart.

He was starting to let the feeling of Doyoung playing with his fingers lull him into a stupor when the other broke the silence, for the second time that night. 

“She likes you, you know?” Doyoung murmured.

Confused, and still a bit dazed, Jaehyun could only make out a “Hmm? Who does?”

“Aquila,” Doyoung chuckled. “She’s never let anyone apart from me ride her. Until you.”

“I like her too,” Jaehyun replied. “I’ll miss her.”

Sighing at his tone, Doyoung turned around, shifting so that he was now seated backwards facing Jaehyun, his expression serious. 

“Jaehyun,” he began, and Jaehyun didn't think he’d ever seen the god this nervous in all his hundred years. “I’m not giving you to Hades.”

Jaehyun stilled at his words, even as his heart went into overdrive. “What do you mean? We agreed that my mortal life was to be forfeited once my hundred years were up. And you yourself said that gods aren’t allowed to rescind their decisions.”

“Yes, but…” Doyoung trailed off before sighing, his eyes squeezed shut in a frown. “I don’t _ want _ to give you to Hades.”

Jaehyun felt his heart constrict as the meaning behind his words settled over him. “Doyoung…”

“If you could, would you,” Doyoung took a deep breath before continuing. “Would you stay with me?”

Jaehyun couldn’t meet the god’s gaze as he answered, voice barely above a whisper. “You know I would.”

Doyoung reached forward and grabbed his hand, tugging on it gently so that Jaehyun was looking back at him. “So stay.”

Jaehyun frowned. “How?” 

“I said your mortal life would be forfeit, I did not say how.” He reached forward, clasping both of Jaehyun’s hands in his. “Let me Deify you.”

“What?” Jaehyun asked, astounded. “I didn’t think you could do that for just anybody?”

“I’d do it for you,” Doyoung answered, voice small as he looked back up Jaehyun, the stars in his eyes a mirror image of the ones above them. “I’d do anything for you.”

Jaehyun felt the tears that he’d been holding back the entire night well up in his eyes but he no longer cared. Instead, he brought his hands up to cup Doyoung’s face, bringing their foreheads together. 

“You’ll get in so much trouble,” he whispered softly, tears streaming freely down his face only to be blown away by the wind. “Hera will hate you, and me, even more than she already does.”

“I don’t care.” Doyoung closed his eyes and wound his arms around Jaehyun, foreheads still touching. “Will you let me?”

The cogs in Jaehyun’s mind started turning again, as he thought through the possible consequences of their actions, about what could happen to the both of them. But for once, he didn’t want to be sacrificial. Not when it meant that he’d have to give up the last remaining thing he’d ever loved in his lifetime. 

So he nodded, as he pressed their lips together. 

“I will.”

❖

“You know,” Doyoung murmured later that night after he’d tucked himself firmly into Jaehyun’s side. “I’ve already thought of a title for you.”

“And what would that be, my King?” Jaehyun asked, pressing a kiss onto the other’s forehead. 

“Aquarius.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and making it all the way to the end! I hope you kind of understood what I was writing about but if you’re like me and have a minimal understanding of greek mythology, this was adapted from the origin myth of the constellation Aquarius according to [this](https://www.serendipity-astrolovers.com/Aquarius-Mythology.html) Not sure how accurate it is but I wanted Aquarius because both Doyoung and Jaehyun are Aquarians :) 
> 
> Also, the prompts for the days are:  
Day 3: A Blessing & A Curse  
Day 4: Constellations
> 
> I hope this kind of satisfied the prompts? Anyway, if you have questions or just wanna chat here’s my  
❆ [twitter](http://twitter.com/moonfleur_)  
❆ [cc](https://curiouscat.me/moonfleur_)


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